Okay… I'm finally done with my first year of college (yay!!!!). Sorry about the lack of updates; I had finals, a graduation dinner for my friend, a Walk for Diabetes, building the deck, work, et cetera. I think I've revised this chapter at least three times…damn writer's block. :P Anyway, I solemnly swear that I'm not getting out of my bathtub until this is done and posted! Oh, anonymous people can now review (hint, hint!)… And again, Cuddy's thoughts are in italics.

At precisely 7:00 A.M. Dr. Lisa Cuddy walked through the doors of the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. The run she had taken, followed by the ice-cold shower, had done wonders for clearing her head and invigorating her body. If she had any doubts about her decision regarding Tommy's offer, it wasn't visible. If anything, she appeared to be even surer of herself this morning—her stride was more purposeful; her smile, wider; and the glint in her eyes, brighter.

Cuddy had made it to her office without being disturbed by anyone—annoyed patients, House, harassed nurses, House, boring investors, House—the list went on. It's still early though.

Opening her dark office and flicking on the lights, Cuddy went over to her private bathroom and hung up her outfit for later that evening. She passed a quick glance over the red, empire waist dress. Not too fancy, but not too casual either. Deep neckline, no sleeves, short—just above the knees. Matched with the 3-inch pumps she had brought along, she was going to look killer. Might as well make him drool a little… Going over to her computer and flicking it on, she took a mental note—Have secretary call Tommy Wells and set up date at the Library—8 P.M.

While waiting for her computer to boot up, she shot a glare at the stack of paperwork that had driven her to the bottle of wine last night. She thought she had made some headway; however, the pile seemed even larger than it was when she had left. Argh… It wasn't stacked neatly into piles like she had it either! Rage was evident in her every feature as it dawned upon her. He broke into my office again! She made a low growl while reaching for the upper-most file folders. John Hawkings--Celiac disease, Rachel Munson—Aspergillosis, Jane Herold—Listeriosis, Bobbi Jo Erickson, Cortney Price, James Willison… She went through file after file, tossing each one aside. These aren't my cases…argh, HOUSE! He must have waited MONTHS building up these files just to dump them on me all at once. Grrr… She grimaced, drawing her eyebrows together and placing her head in her hands. He's not even here and manages to annoy the hell out of me… This is not going to be a good day.

After a few minutes of kneading her forehead, trying to force away the migraine that was threatening to take over, she went through the other file folders, tossing them aside one by one. House's…House's…House's… Reaching the bottom of the pile, Cuddy found a hastily scribbled note which read:

Cuddles,

Looked like you were enjoying your paperwork last night. Enjoy mine today. : )

Cuddy fumed inwardly, still looking at the note. She had finally lost her temper—and it was only 8 A.M. "ASS!" she shouted, throwing her hands in the air, just as her secretary walked into her office.

Where her previous secretary would have run out of the room crying, red braids swinging wildly around her face, this secretary was starkly different. Although he had only been working for Cuddy a little over three weeks, she knew he was meant to stay. Nothing ever surprised him or made him uneasy and he knew her—well, at least better than most people. He knew when she was mad, when she was hungry, when she needed to go home and rest. To her, Evan was more than just a secretary; he was the person she had quickly come to rely upon to keep her sane—especially when a certain someone was constantly driving her insane.

"Sorry," she mumbled, catching sight of him and offering a weak smile. He looked good today. When he had initially begun working for her, he wore a full suit, tie—the whole shebang. It had made her a little uncomfortable with how proper he looked when she was a little lax in that department. She probably wouldn't admit it out loud, but she liked feeling like a woman—liked the attention she so seldom received. So, quite early on, she had told Evan that he could tone it down to loafers, dress pants, and a button-up shirt.

"No problem," he smiled at her knowingly. "Do you need some coffee? I got you a Venti Dulce de Leche Latte from Starbucks." He held out the tray before him, showing one extremely large cup of coffee and another, smaller one for him.

Cuddy gave him a genuine smile as he moved through the door and towards her desk. "Have I ever told you that I love you?" Cuddy responded, carefully taking the full cup of coffee from him and downing a gulp. She closed her eyes. God, this is Heaven. Her day just got a little bit better.

When she opened her eyes, Cuddy noticed that Evan had put some Excedrin Migraine on her desk and was in the process of cleaning up the mess that was House's files. She popped the pills into her mouth and washed them down with some of the warm goodness that was her addiction.

"Evan," she finally stood and touched his shoulder, "leave them." Understanding that he had been dismissed, Evan turned to leave, taking a sip of his coffee. He had just opened the door when Cuddy remembered her date. "Oh Evan, I need you to call a Mr. Tommy Wells and tell him 'The Library at eight,' okay?" she said, unknowingly grinning at him.

"No problem boss," he grinned back at her. He knew code when he heard it. The Library—yeah right. Unfortunately for Cuddy, Evan wasn't the only one who had heard her. Before her secretary could halt the man's progress, House limped into Cuddy's office.

"On the prowl once again, huh? You gonna let him buy you a drink first or go straight for the goods?" House smirked.

Cuddy had already sat down behind her desk again, rubbing her temples furiously. Without missing a beat she said, "Whatever it is, no. No jumping ahead in the line for any machine, no random tests, no surgeries. Get out and take your files with you. I'm sure you can get your team to do your work for you—again. You don't need me." She didn't even bother to look up at him. Her head was killing her and she couldn't think properly with all the pounding.

When she chanced a glance upwards, to where House should have been, he wasn't there. Woah, he left me alone without a fight for once. Amaz—

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly by strong hands on the back of her neck. Startled, she jumped up in her chair, but his hands held her firmly in place. She tried to turn around to face him but—

"Stop moving," he commanded lightly.

"What are you doing?" she responded, confused. He normally doesn't sound so…caring.

"And you call yourself a doctor?" he scoffed, smiling down at her although she couldn't see him. "They call this a massage. M. A. S. S.--" House could tell Cuddy was getting prickly by the way her spine stiffened. "Calm down and stop moving. It'll help you relax."

He was so right. His hands were like magic, soothing her mind and body. Cuddy just sat there, eyes closed, body leaning towards his touch, allowing him to take control. For once they weren't fighting with each other to get the upper-hand; she had conceded easily. "God, that feels good," she moaned. She opened her eyes in astonishment. Did I just say that out loud?

House chuckled. "These hands have many special talents," he growled seductively, but she had already relaxed again. He began moving his hands down to her shoulders, going under her shirt to touch bare skin. He was actually surprised that she hadn't slapped his hands away yet. Being even more daring, he began fiddling with her bra straps, slowly sliding them down her shoulders. No response. House moved to look at Cuddy, hands still under her shirt—she had fallen asleep. "Aw, no fun," House said in his best whiney voice.

At the sound Cuddy's head jerked upwards. What the hell is going on? She stood up abruptly and turned, running straight into House's chest. Had she been a little less disoriented and had he been a little steadier on his feet, they probably would have been okay. As it was, House grabbed onto Cuddy to prevent himself from falling, but ended up just bringing her down with him. Cuddy let out a scream of surprise as she landed on top of her employee.

Practically straddling him in her skirt, face-to-face, Cuddy tried to pull herself up. House deftly wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her back down. "House," she warned. Oh, too close…too close! What if someone walked in on this?!

House's leg was throbbing, but he was enjoying her anxiety too much to pay it much notice. "Shush," he commanded in a low voice. "You don't want someone to come in thinking you were doing something naughty with your diagnostician, would you?" he grinned broadly. Out of all the things she was—flushed, embarrassed, and uncomfortable, the reasonable side of her said that House wouldn't let go until he wanted to and she couldn't escape from him on her own. Might as well speed up the process, she thought, stilling against him. He loosened his hold on her, somewhat surprised. "The girls wanted to come out and play before," he glanced down at her chest, "but you went and fell asleep." He frowned. "And since this is the best view I've had of the funbags in quite a while, I thought I'd enjoy it." He winked at her.

Before she had known what House was doing, he had leant up and placed a chaste peck on her lips, adding seriously, "And you're wrong. I do need you." Flustered, it took a moment for Cuddy to notice that the door had swung open and a scandalous voice was booming, "Doctor Cuddy!"

So yeah, I had to get a little Huddy in there. I tried not to get it too OOC…but I think it's hard to avoid with Huddy scenes. Anyway, let's take a vote here…who do YOU want Cuddy with? Do you want the confident Tommy, the caring Evan (you didn't think I'd throw in ANOTHER love interest, didja?), or the awesomely sarcastic and brilliant House? Oooh, it could be a love square…kind of…er…maybe not. :) So you vote and I'll get out of this bathtub. ;)